NYC is wonderful, but why pay the high $$ to live there if not in the arts?

Question

I can understand living in Manhattan in you are in the theater or modeling or some other artistic field that is a major industry there. But if you are a regular schmoe, why would you want to pay $2000 a month (or more) to live in a shoebox when there are so many wonderful places in the county in which... for the same money... you could live in a mansion (and still have money left over to do things!)

Answer 1

Im pretty regualr. Im from the bronx though and moving to a new city to save on rent is inconcivable.
My rent, is 1000 bucks a month and i have a small 2 bedroom in harlem.
I cant even imagine what my job would be elsewhere, i certainly am not going to start working in a walmart, when i make 80 bucks an hour being a dominatrix here, a job that i doubt is availabe elsewhere.
I love good food., and ny certainly has alot of that. A life of tgi fridays and red lobsters for dinner doesnt appeal to me.
My daughter has some great oppunities here. Shes applying to one of the best free elementry schools in the country, and in under 15 min we can visit a planetarium, or giant art collections.
I can get whatever i want at almost any hour, and dont need a car to get me there.

If i was wealthyer i;d love a vacation house somewhere. but i wouldnt want to move.

Answer 2

First of all, you don't have to pay $2000 a month for a shoebox. I pay $950 a month for a decent sized one bedroom. I just have to put up with questionable neighbors and long commute. And I still have money left over for things to do. Not a lot though...

But why do I live here? Here's some good things: I'm a music teacher, and the New York Pops orchestra is involved with our school. As a result, they want to use music that my students write in the Macy's 4th of July fireworks show. My students and I will get front row seats. I'm in a chorus that sings two concerts a year at Carnegie Hall. I can see the Metropolitan Opera for free every summer in Central Park. ANY band I would EVER want to see always includes NYC in their tour. The list goes on and on and on.

In short, I'm 1/2 hour away from action central in the best city on the planet. A city millions of people come to every year as tourists, that you always see on TV and in movies, and that everybody from any foreign country thinks of when they think America, I live here. That's pretty cool.

Answer 3

Many people choose Manhattan for many reasons. I lived there for some time and it is always roaring. So many clubs, museums, people, languages, food! So much fun.

Only newcomers pay $2000 for a shoebox. Oldtimers live in rent-controlled apartments and some, like me, had an illegal sublet. I paid only $800 for my shoebox because I sublet it from some one who had controlled rent.

I met the person who rented me my room at a Starbucks.. and meeting people is how business gets done in NYC.

If you're the type of person who is not a go-getter, you won't make it. Thank goodness I only went to go to school. It's a city that will chew you up and spit you out!

Beware become what I call the "Sex in the City" girl.. one who has a couple of "boyfriends" (sometimes only one) who pays your way because bills are so high. You do not need that kind of life. Almost everyone I know had done it (taken rent money from a boyfriend but subsequently became man-dependent). Only my Harvard-grad friend and I (who had saved up) escaped the dependency route.

Answer 4

My daughter is a model and yes it is high but you can live cheep,We only moved to ca because of her father,I would move back in a new york minute,you have every thing and the people are great,their is no other place you could ever go and do what you can their,and the things you see and buy only in New York I love you

Answer 5

If you love to travel NYC is great. You name the country and I would bet they have a store or a restaurant here. Along those line the diversity of people is like no other.